The beat used by Kendrick Lamar on his recent single ‘Humble’ was originally meant for Gucci Mane.
The track’s producer, Mike Will Made It, has shared the story behind the standout ‘Damn’ track in a new interview, saying: “I knew that beat was going to capture a moment.”
“It just felt real urgent,” he told NPR. “I made that beat [last year] when Gucci Mane was getting out of jail; I made it with him in mind. I was just thinking, damn, Gucci’s about to come home; it’s got to be something urgent that’s just going to take over the radio. And I felt like that beat was that.”
The producer continued: “I ended up not doing it with Gucci and I let Kendrick hear it. I was thinking, ‘if Dot gets on this it’ll be his first time being heard on some[thing] like this.’ At the same time, it kind of has an NWA/Dr. Dre feel, an Eminem kind of feel. So I thought, let me see if Dot fucks with it. And he heard the beat and he liked it.
“But he was about to give me ‘Humble’ for [my album] Ransom 2. I love that song so I was like, ‘Man, hell yeah.’ Then he told me that his team was saying he should keep it. And I told him, ‘Bruh, you definitely should keep it, and you should use it as your single.”
The Compton rapper released his latest project ‘Damn’ earlier this month (April 14) following a stand-alone track (‘The Heart Pt. 4’) and its official lead single, ‘Humble’. The new album features credited guest spots from Rihanna and U2, while the likes of Kaytranada, James Blake and Rat Boy are all present in some form on the record.
Having headlined the two weekends of Coachella, Lamar has now released details of his upcoming tour of the US and Canada. The dates will run from July to August.
The stint includes dates in Brooklyn, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago, Toronto, Philadelphia and other major cities. See the full dates below.
July 12 Phoenix, AZ – Gila River Arena
14 Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
15 Houston, TX – Toyota Center
17 Duluth, GA – Infinite Energy Arena
19 Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
20 Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center
21 Washington, DC – Verizon Center
22 Boston, MA – TD Garden
25 Toronto, Ontario – Air Canada Centre
26 Auburn Hills, MI – The Palace of Auburn Hills
27 Chicago, IL – United Center
29 Denver, CO – Pepsi Center
August 1 Seattle, WA – Tacoma Dome
2 Vancouver, British Columbia – Rogers Arena
4 Oakland, CA – Oracle Arena
5 Las Vegas, NV – T-Mobile Arena
6 Los Angeles, CA – Staples Center